2010 AL Central Catch-All

[chw42]

Nix just hit another one today.

[chw42]

D Wise with a bomb.

I am SO happy that guy is in the bigs.

He is a f***ing stud.

Unappreciated stud.

 

He did the same thing in 2008. His best asset is his defense. That's where he's a stud.

[greg775]

Yeah.

He had that over the shoulder catch in cf tonight too.

 

[chw42]

Holy crap, back to back bombs by the Twins.

[chw42]

Tallet got squeezed twice, Twins tie it.

[ThunderBolt]

Nix just hit another one today.

Alright! I like following him even though i have no rooting interest for him anymore. It's nice to see him do well.

[chw42]

Toronto up 5-1 in the 4th.

[chw42]

7-1 in the 7th. Looks like we're going to be 1.5 up.

[Real]

Joe Mauer, Month by Month

 

March & April : .345/.406/.500 (.906 OPS)

May: .293/.384/.400 (.784 OPS)

June: .271/.349/.396 (.745 OPS)

July: .250/.300/.429 (.729 OPS)

 

See a trend?

 

My speculation: His Back Injury is baaaaaaaaaack

[T R U]

Joe Mauer, Month by Month

 

March & April : .345/.406/.500 (.906 OPS)

May: .293/.384/.400 (.784 OPS)

June: .271/.349/.396 (.745 OPS)

July: .250/.300/.429 (.729 OPS)

 

See a trend?

 

My speculation: His Back Injury is baaaaaaaaaack

 

I traded Mauer for Felix Hernandez and Russel Martin in the Soxtalk Keeper league.. it was offered to me, easiest accept I ever had

[Balta1701]

Man, the Twins have fallen off a cliff this week.

[chw42]

Morneau might not play in the ASG. Maybe Paulie can get in? They'll most likely take Youk, but we can hope.

[Balta1701]

Morneau might not play in the ASG. Maybe Paulie can get in? They'll most likely take Youk, but we can hope.

Twins just made it official, Morneau heading to Minnesota for treatment.

[iamshack]

Twins just made it official, Morneau heading to Minnesota for treatment.

I was watching that game Wednesday night and saw the play in which he was allegedly knocked a bit loopy. He must have a bit of an issue from his hockey playing days because it certainly did not appear to be a big collision.

[Benchwarmerjim]

Morneau supposedly had 2 concussions playing hockey, and he suffered another concussion a few years ago when he was drilled in the head with a pitch in Seattle

 

==

 

I remember a time when a lot of you Sox fans were jumping ship from your team and when to watch the hockey playoffs. Baseball's a funny game

[southsider2k5]

Morneau supposedly had 2 concussions playing hockey, and he suffered another concussion a few years ago when he was drilled in the head with a pitch in Seattle

 

==

 

I remember a time when a lot of you Sox fans were jumping ship from your team and when to watch the hockey playoffs. Baseball's a funny game

 

Wow, so this is pretty serious. Usually they make you have a day symptom free for every day you have symptoms. That would make this last a while potentially.

[Balta1701]

Morneau supposedly had 2 concussions playing hockey, and he suffered another concussion a few years ago when he was drilled in the head with a pitch in Seattle

Has Morneau switched himself to the supposedly awkward looking larger, better protecting helmet yet?

 

If not, is he crazy?

[Real]

Twins are 12th out of 14 teams in defensive efficiency. Most runners stranded. On a near-record double plays hit into pace.

http://www.sctimes.com/article/20100711/SP...26/-1/RSSSPORTS

The Twins are about to limp into the All-Star break in third place in the AL Central, which isn’t easy to do: This division is an island of misfit toys, one that doesn’t include a team that ranks among the top four in the league.

On paper, the Twins appear to be easily the best of the lot. But paper is where statistics often show up, and so far the 2010 Twins have been a team whose sum doesn’t equal the total of its most commonly cited numbers.

Most troubling is how overmatched the Twins have looked against the league’s premier teams (5-10 vs. the Yankees, Rays and Red Sox). They’ve also had positive moments, but based on preseason expectations you’d have to say the Twins have thus far generally underachieved.

And at first glance, that’s puzzling. The Twins appear to have the most formidable offensive lineup in the division. They probably have the deepest starting rotation. And by the most obvious statistical measure, they also have the best defense.

But that’s today’s point: Statistics often lie, particularly when you look at the wrong ones or simply take them at face value.

This team’s biggest problem is that it really doesn’t play “Twins Baseball,” or what that has come to mean over the last decade or so.

Those teams emphasized pitching, defense and aggressive baserunning to compensate for their other shortcomings, and they did it well enough to qualify for the postseason five times between 2002-09.

But this year’s Twins have a plodding, station-to-station offense; a deceptively poor defense; and an unremarkable pitching staff that has suffered greatly because of the defensive issues.

First, the offense. On paper, it looked terrific: Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel were all coming off big power seasons; Delmon Young has made big offensive strides; Denard Span and Orlando Hudson seemed like quality table-setters, and J.J. Hardy appeared poised for a comeback.

But this is a horribly slow team, with Span the only base-stealing threat and almost everybody else clogging up the base paths when they get on. Mauer, Cuddyer and Kubel have regressed in the power department, and the Twins often need multiple hits to score a run. They lead the majors in stranded runners and grounding into double plays.

 

The same problem plagues the Twins’ defenders: They look good on paper — Minnesota leads the American League in fielding percentage, and has committed the fewest errors — but again those statistics lie.

A more pertinent stat than fielding percentage is Defensive Efficiency Rating, which is the rate at which balls put into play are converted into outs by the defense. That’s a better indicator of a team’s defense because it measures range: The Twins usually catch balls that they reach, but there a lot of balls that they don’t reach.

The Twins’ DER ranks 12th in the 14-team league, largely because of their outfield defense. Combine Span (an average center fielder) with the plodding Kubel or Cuddyer in right and the disastrous Young in left, and you probably have the worst defensive outfield in the majors.

It’s hard to calculate how much this team’s defensive issues are hurting its pitching staff. The Twins preach pitching to contact, which means fielders have to make catches and cover ground — precisely what this team hasn’t done.

Minnesota’s pitching staff ranks ninth in the league in strikeouts and 13th in opponents’ slugging percentage, another indicator that the outfield defense is lousy. Starters Nick Blackburn, Kevin Slowey and Scott Baker have all been atrocious away from Target Field, which in turn heaps pressure on a bullpen that overachieved in April and May but has begun to crack since then.

What’s the solution? Well, maybe nothing: The Twins are still in a weak division, and possibly can win it with nothing more than better health and diminished underachievement.

But it’s also possible that Bill Smith might need to take a look in the mirror and realize that what he constructed in the offseason is an inherently flawed team, one that might require a major trade to shake it up.

The Twins need to improve their outfield defense, their team speed and their starting pitching. They need to put more pressure on opponents and get back to “Twins Baseball.” Whether this team as currently constituted is capable of that looks more doubtful all the time.

Many of the Twins’ statistics look good, but some of them are damned lies. And if you look at the right statistics, or look at them the right way, they tell a painful truth.

Edited July 12, 2010 by Real

[BigSqwert]

But they do things the right way according to Thome.

[chw42]

Twins are 12th out of 14 teams in defensive efficiency. Most runners stranded. On a near-record double plays hit into pace.

http://www.sctimes.com/article/20100711/SP...26/-1/RSSSPORTS

 

UZR doesn't agree with defensive efficiency, Twins are a +20 as a team, fourth in baseball.

 

Although the other stuff is definitely weird for them. It must be the fact that they have a bunch of power hitters now.

[witesoxfan]

UZR doesn't agree with defensive efficiency, Twins are a +20 as a team, fourth in baseball.

 

Although the other stuff is definitely weird for them. It must be the fact that they have a bunch of power hitters now.

 

Great infield defense, bad outfield defense. Span has been a good defender, but Cuddyer has been dreadful in RF, and Kubel has been terrible as usual when he's played. Delmon Young has actually made drastic improvements from a horrendous fielder to merely a bad outfielder this year.

[chw42]

Great infield defense, bad outfield defense. Span has been a good defender, but Cuddyer has been dreadful in RF, and Kubel has been terrible as usual when he's played. Delmon Young has actually made drastic improvements from a horrendous fielder to merely a bad outfielder this year.

 

Plus, no J.J. Hardy...

 

So Cuddyer had to play 2B and 3B a couple of times. God he sucks at defense. He's one of the most overrated players in baseball. That outfield of theirs is really bad.

[witesoxfan]

Plus, no J.J. Hardy...

 

So Cuddyer had to play 2B and 3B a couple of times. God he sucks at defense. He's one of the most overrated players in baseball. That outfield of theirs is really bad.

 

If they didn't think they would miss Gomez's defense in CF, then they weren't thinking. He doesn't do anything offensively, but he can cover as much ground in CF as anyone.

[chw42]

If they didn't think they would miss Gomez's defense in CF, then they weren't thinking. He doesn't do anything offensively, but he can cover as much ground in CF as anyone.

 

The Twins are a very non-sabermetric organization. I'm surprised at their success w/o any sabermetric flavor. Their assistant GM doesn't know what BABIP and FIP are and thinks RBI is more important than anything.

[witesoxfan]

The Twins are a very non-sabermetric organization. I'm surprised at their success w/o any sabermetric flavor. Their assistant GM doesn't know what BABIP and FIP are and thinks RBI is more important than anything.

 

Felix has or had a quote from Bill Smith that said he'd prefer a pitcher with more wins and a high ERA than a pitcher with fewer wins and a low ERA. I get that he means he wants a pitcher with more wins, because it means the team is winning, but it's such a flawed quote that it's hilarious.